Is there a way you can read and write without without a router?
An Ethernet port is needed. That can be a router, a switch or directly into a PC.
If you go the switch option you might need to set a static IP. Same with a PC
Or if you not want to go the static IP way, you can set the PC to be a DHCP server
Mycloud does not have wireless, so it could care less about it.
Directly into PC? My PC (MacBook Pro retina) doesn’t have an ethernet port. What do I do in this case…
You could use one of these
[quote=“stock,
post:3, topic:162657”]
What do I do in this case…
[/quote]
You google the â– â– â– â– out of it! 
Then you will find USB is an option as well
What do you mean by static ip? When I buy the ethernet adapter and plug in through the ethernet cable, what must I do to set a static IP so that I can access the WD My Cloud directly through the computer instead of through a router?
I’d suggest buying a cheap, secondhand wifi router. I bought one for £1 recently.
[edit: d’oh: wrong thread…]
There are times when I have to be out of home (and hence cannot use the router) and need to access the files.
Shall we start again…?
Do you have an internet connection at home?
Do you have a WiFi router at home?
If not, then you may have bought the wrong product; you may want a simple USB HDD that you can carry with you; the MyCloud is not really intended to be a portable device; it is meant to be an always on, network file server, accessed via a network connection (local or wide area).
If you have internet access and a router providing a wired and wireless local area network at home, then you need to connect the MyCloud to the router using an ethernet cable, and access it via WiFi at home, and via the WD remote access apps when away from home, using the cloud access capabilities of the MyCloud.
I would recommend reading the User Manual.
“WD remote access apps when away from home”
Wow I didn’t realize this. Can you even write to it using WD remote access, not just read from it?
But the problem is I don’t have a permanent home and rent a room whenever I need one, but I’m talking about a case where I don’t have a room rented.
@stock, you really should stop and read the User Manual for the My Cloud (http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/?id=439&type=25) before asking any more questions. The user manual will explain how to setup the My Cloud and how to use or configure the various features of the My Cloud.
In order to access the My Cloud it has to be connected to either your computer, or mobile device, or to a router/switch/hub by an Ethernet cable. This means your computer needs to have an Ethernet port. If it lacks one there are various low cost USB to Ethernet adapters available for Windows or Macintosh computers. One can purchase low cost wireless routers, or wired switches/hubs as well.
Unless you plan on taking your My Cloud with you where ever you go, you will be unable to access the My Cloud remotely unless the My Cloud is connected to a broadband or similar connection.
As mentioned before, return it and get a USB drive.
This seems another infamous case in which a NAS is bought with the idea it behaves as a USB drive.
No, I bought it more than a year ago and have been using it with a router, but I will be in a place where I can’t use my router and I won’t have a home where I can put the My Cloud and access it via WD remote access.
with or without internet, you can always use the router.
Without internet will all work via LAN just fine. You just won’t have remote access (WAN)
that you will not have.
Okay, then, in that case, you’re going to have to go for a USB to ethernet box, as originally suggested, and use the connection described on p92 of the user manual.
“My router has failed. How do you manually map the drive letter?”
I must say that I wouldn’t want to have to lug the MyCloud around, but if that’s all you’ve got… Unlike portable drives, I don’t think the drive is optimised to protect from head crashes due to movement and bumps.
I guess then I should get a portable drive and move some of the things in the My Cloud into it…
I think, if you can afford it, that’s probably the way to go. Powered from the USB port; small, light, portable, etc. If you’ve only ever used the device as a single-user file store, and never used the media server, or remote access, then you probably won’t miss much.
I may have been overstating the fragility of the unpowered MyCloud; after all, it has to survive shipping, admittedly, in a protective case. But the heads are probably safely locked when it’s powered down.
The My Cloud is only as robust as its internal hard drive. That drive has to, as you point out, survive shipping and other jostling. But like any hard drive it may not survive a fall off a table/shelf (ask me how I know 
) or from a significant height onto a hard surface, or any other high G shock to the hard drive. Especially when the drive is in use/operation.
I routinely take my My Cloud with me when visiting family. Even carry a spare router with me at times just in case. But the down side is, it is extra stuff, that isn’t exactly light, to haul. For the OP a small (size wise) USB external hard drive sounds like their best option if they don’t want to haul the My Cloud and router around with them.
The OP has really not told us what kind of data he wants to access, and this can help determine choice of a storage device.
For example, does he want to access his media files so he can enjoy his music, videos and photos while traveling? Or, does he want to access work-related Word and Excel kinds of files?
I want to access and enjoy my media files when I travel, so I have a wireless hard drive that emits its own Wi-Fi signal I can wirelessly connect a phone, tablet or laptop to. It is called the WD My Passport Wireless (aka MPW) . It is not intended to be connected to a computer’s USB port for normal usage except for disk management to add or delete files on it. Otherwise, it is intended to be connected to wirelessly, because it has its own wireless signal like a router. It can also be concurrently joined to another local Wi-Fi network with internet so that it can also be used when connected to another Wi-Fi network (like a NAS does). In many ways, the MPW is a mini-My Cloud NAS.
Photographers like it for its SD slot where the contents of an SD card can be uploaded into the drive for storage.
Here is the info about the MPW device at WD website:
See if this would be suitable.
